U.S., China Agree to Continue Talks on Cyber Issues

By Global Security Newswire Staff

Top U.S. and Chinese defense officials on Monday explored holding more joint military maneuvers and agreed to continue talking about disagreements regarding cyber attacks, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Washington blames the People's Liberation Army for carrying out a series of cyber strikes aimed at gaining illicit access to information about critical U.S. weapon systems and private-industry secrets. Meanwhile, China has criticized the United States for developing offensive cyber-warfare capabilities.

The two sides were unable to bridge their differences on the computer-intrusion issue, according to anonymous U.S. officials.

"We oppose any kind of arms race in the cyber domain," Chinese Gen. Chang Wanquan said at a Pentagon press briefing alongside his U.S. counterpart, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel. The general repeated Beijing's assertion that China is actually a "primary victim" of cyber attacks.

The two countries announced that they had agreed to maintain senior-level military discussions into 2014, Defense News reported.

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This article was published in Global Security Newswire,
which is produced independently by National Journal Group under contract with the Nuclear Threat Initiative.
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